Week: Peace
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Holy Spirit, You help us grow, each and every day, into who God made us to be. We’re ready to be changed a little bit more by You today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Kumi
Philippians 4:7
And God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re REFLECTING on a different way of receiving peace.
Read by Kumi
Philippians 4:8-9
Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honourable and right and pure and beautiful and respected. Do what you learned and received from me, what I told you, and what you saw me do. And the God who gives peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9 (NCV)
We think about things all the time; The headache we’ve got. That new series we want to watch. The thing we said yesterday that we wish we hadn’t. Whoops… that homework we forgot about. It’s almost impossible not to think about things.
And it’s hard not to think about bad things sometimes – negative things about ourselves or about other people. But Paul doesn’t tell us off about this. He simply encourages us to choose to think about good things instead – to fill our minds with them… because then God will give us peace.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s quickfire questions: What are the first things that come into our minds when we hear the following words… True. Honourable. Right. Pure. Lovely. Beautiful. Respected. Let’s tell each other what we thought of.
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Father God, we choose to think about good things – things that are true and right and beautiful. We ASK for Your help with this, because it isn’t always easy.
In today’s Bible verses, Paul tells the Philippian church to do; ‘what I told you, and what you saw me do’. They didn’t just hear Paul talking about things that are true and right and beautiful, but they saw that he filled his life with them too. Paul was a good example.
Let’s whisper the names of a couple of people who have been good examples to us and pray our own prayers for God’s peace to be with them.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
Philippians 4:8-9
Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honourable and right and pure and beautiful and respected. Do what you learned and received from me, what I told you, and what you saw me do. And the God who gives peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8-9 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together using these words attributed to St Francis of Assisi:
‘Lord, make [us] an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let [us] sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.’ *
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Philippians 4:7
And God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
*Albert Haas, Soul Training with the Peace Prayer of St Francis (Ohio: Franciscan Media, 2020)
Phil lives close to a beach in the north of England with his wife, his daughters and his dogs. Phil works for 24-7 Prayer, mostly doing Lectio stuff, and helping to run Prayer Spaces in Schools. He runs a lot, usually for long distances. He likes curry, mountains, reading books and he still plays Pokemon Go.
Kumkanikazi (Kumi) lives In Johannesburg, South Africa with her parents and 4 siblings.
You’ll often find her in a stylish outfit, baking up a storm or creating videos.
